Willard Elmer White was a Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 player in 1871 with the Cleveland Forest Citys

Cleveland Forest Citys

The Forest Citys were a short lived professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio in the early 1870s. The actual name of the team, as shown in standings, was Forest City, not "Cleveland". The name "Forest Citys" was used in the same generic style of the day in which the team from Chicago,...

. He was Forest City's regular right fielder and back-up catcher until he broke his arm running into a fence on June 22. White was the cousin of Deacon White

Deacon White

James Laurie "Deacon" White was an American baseball player who was one of the principal stars during the first two decades of the sport's professional era...

 and Will White

Will White

William Henry "Whoop-La" White was an American Major League Baseball pitcher.White made his debut on July 20, 1877 with the Boston Red Caps at the age of 23...

. He batted .257 in 1871 and finished 5th in the National Association

National Association of Professional Base Ball Players

The National Association of Professional Base Ball Players , or simply the National Association , was founded in 1871 and continued through the 1875 season...

 with 6 strikeouts, a high number for that era.

White had the misfortune of becoming the first recorded professional baseball player to die when he died in his hometown of Caton, New York

Caton, New York

Caton is a town in Steuben County, New York, United States. The population was 2,097 at the 2000 census. The town is named after Richard Caton.The Town of Caton is in the southeast part of the county, south of Corning, New York.- History :...

at the age of 22, shortly before the beginning of the 1872 season.